Race report
Formula 1 Belgian GP
Perez and Ocon no longer free to race - Force India
Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon will not be allowed to race each other in future after the Force India Formula 1 teammates collided again at the Belgian Grand Prix, says Otmar Szafnauer.
Lawrence Barretto
Edited: Aug 27, 2017, 1:59 PM
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Perez appeared to squeeze Ocon towards the wall on the run down to Eau Rouge, with the pair making contact that broke Ocon’s front wing and punctured Perez’s right-rear tyre.
The incident comes after the pair collided in Baku earlier this year, with both cars damaged.
Force India said at the time that both were responsible and that the pair would still be free to race each other - but after their collision at Spa, chief operating officer Szafnauer said the approach would change.
“I only saw what you saw [on TV], but it looked like Sergio squeezed Esteban into the wall and came out the loser of that scrap,” Szafnauer told Sky Sports.
“In the future they’ll never have that opportunity again. We’ve let them race up until now. If they can’t do it in a manner which is good for the team, then they won’t be racing anymore.
“They shouldn’t be coming together. We’ve given them the latitude to race and I’ve always said that.
“We’ve told them if it happens again, if a Baku-type incident happens again, then we’ll be calling the race from the pitwall in the future.
“If we stay fourth it will cost us nothing, but it’s definitely cost us points.”
The incident occurred shortly after Ocon has complained that Force India had pitted Perez before him despite the former having track position.
The team said it was because Perez had a penalty, which he was given for leaving the track and gaining an advantage but to “stick with him, you have fresher tyres”.
When it was put to him that fans want to see racing, Szafnauer agreed but insisted teammates simply shouldn’t be making contact.
“For sure, which is why we let them race,” he said. “But once it gets to the point of safety margins and crashing into each other we’ve got to take it into our own hands."
The clash was not the only Belgian GP incident involving the pair as an opening-lap incident tussle had seen Ocon squeezed towards that very same wall heading into Eau Rouge - with no significant damage sustained on that occasion.
Both Ocon and Perez recovered to the pits after their second clash, with Ocon finishing the race ninth but Perez being called into the pits to retire the car with two laps to go.
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